Another Encounter
by teakylo
Summary: Rey runs into Kylo Ren two years after their battle. Internal conflicts are revealed, emotions run raw, and a connection is formed. The pair must learn more about the Force, themselves, and each other to survive. Will be ReyLo - Rated T for graphic violence.
1. I: Turmoil

What happened on Starkiller seemed to be a distant memory to Rey. She recalled brilliant sparks of red clashing with vibrant blue, melting the snow with each fiery contact. She recalled the burning determination in his eyes, and how certain she was that she would die by his hand. However, even with that certainty in her heart, she still fought intrepidly, dodging slashes and swinging her saber at just the right moment to leave a jagged scar on Kylo Ren's countenance.

It had been two years since then. From the moment she arrived on Ahch-To, she trained from dawn until dusk waiting for the day she could enter combat with Kylo Ren once again. She yearned to pull him away from the Dark he enveloped himself in. The idea of entering a battle with Kylo and leaving the battle with Ben kept her motivated in her studies.

And now here she stood, her resplendent double-sided saber shining purple on the trees around her. He was standing not one hundred yards away, feet balancing effortlessly on a boulder, standing in a position that let her know he was not there for friendly discussion. His blade still crackled and spat crimson from the hilt. There was tension in the air—but there was also something else, something deeper. Neither of them drew the first move. They watched, waited. Rey's breath almost hitched in her throat before she spoke.

"Ben." It was less than a whisper. "Ben, please. Your mother misses you. Do you feel no remorse for what you've done?" Even from this distance, his discomfort was visible. His feet shifted gently. It somewhat surprised Rey that he was able to hear her.

After a moment of what seemed to be hesitation, he responded grimly, his voice fuzzily relaying through his helmet. "Ben Solo is dead; he was weak, pathetic." After stating this, he jumped down from the boulder, landing expertly on his feet. "I have done what… what must have been done. For the Order." Rey noted that his voice faltered ever so slightly.

"Is that what Snoke tells you?" Rey replied, slowly inching closer to him. She remained in a stance with which she could deflect or attack if necessary, but part of her felt it wouldn't be.

"It's what I tell myself." At first she thought it to be a poor choice of words, but he continued. "I am loyal to the Dark side of the Force. However…" He began to approach her as well, also standing in a way that suggested he was prepared for any incoming blows. "…The Light tantalizes me."

"Then why don't you return to it?" Rey asked, allowing him to see the concern she felt for him, for Ben. At this he winced, and repositioned himself so that he may point to her with his saber.

"I have told you too much, scavenger." There was a newfound callousness to his voice as he drew closer at a faster pace. Rey tensed, her knuckles white as she gripped tightly to her lightsaber. "Even now, you taunt me with the Light."

He swung at her with brute force, but he was not quick enough to slip past Rey's defensive movement. "Ben, please," she called over the harsh collision.

"Do not call me by that name!" He growled, spinning and swinging at her calf. She moved to block him again, this time faltering ever so slightly, a motion that did not go unseen. Rey mentally cursed herself for allowing a mistake. She backed up against a tree to block his next attack, paying close attention to the exhaust vents on either side of his saber. With a deft movement, she kicked him back and spun around the tree, causing him to slice it in half.

"Do you know what you have done to Leia? To your mother?" She nearly screamed at him, deflecting another blow aimed at her waist. Tears stung around her eyes and threatened to spill over. Rey's feet danced expertly around him, but her eyes remained locked on his helmet. "Is this how you want her to feel? You want her to feel like she's lost everything!" The speed of his attacks grew and she could feel his anger sprinkling the air around her.

"I didn't ask for this!" He bellowed over his rapid flurry of movements. "I didn't ask to be who I am! What I've become!" For a moment Rey heard Ben instead of Kylo Ren. Her heart felt reinforced with hope. She did not dwell for long as he stung into her forearm. Even a mere swipe like this burned deep and she yelped, pulling her arm back and kicking him away once again. Her tears trailed down her cheeks, leaving lines in the thin layer of dirt.

Their sabers clashed once more as they pushed desperately into each other, Kylo's attack out of desperation, fear, and anger. Part of Rey felt that he did not want to hurt her. They stayed locked like that for what felt like centuries, Rey staring into his helmet and feeling his eyes on her. The air hung heavy with their cumulative emotion and the heat of their blades.

After an eternity of tension she finally spoke. "Listen to me, Ben." Her voice was gentle, consoling. "You know you aren't evil. Look inside yourself." She could feel the press of his saber against hers lift ever so slightly and she spun out of his range once more. He did not pursue her. Instead, he reached a gloved hand up to unclasp his helmet. As the dark façade fell from his hands and rolled onto the grass, her eyes fell upon the deep scar he left on his face. She felt a pang of guilt as he returned the stare.

"I cannot tell you if this scar was given to me by the Light or the Dark." His voice was notably softer without the scratchy filter of his helmet. He stood with his saber at his side. "It was the Dark that coaxed me to fight you. It was the Light that coaxed you to respond." Rey heard the sound of blasters ringing in the distance more audibly, the sound of their sabers clashing now absent. "Which do you think it was?" Rey was practically stunned as she watched his saber retract into its hilt.

"I don't think it was the Force," she mumbled after carefully choosing her words. She, too, retracted her blades. "That was simply…us." She dwelled on that for a long time. "Our pent up aggressions, our fears, our dedication. Dancing together on that battlefield as one." He seemed to ponder her words for a long time before lifting his helmet off the ground, brushing the dirt away.

"Perhaps you are right." His words hung heavy with what seemed to be a newfound appreciation for what transpired that day. His eyes traced the scratches and dents on his helmet as he spoke. "Maybe one day I will be able to return." He lifted the helm over his head and clicked it into place, sealing his face away once more. "However, that day is not today."

The Force weaving around them surged with a completely different energy than it had when she first saw him standing atop the boulder. There was no fear from Rey, no anger from Kylo Ren. Whatever this energy was, it felt much less sharp.

Ren turned without a word, weaving between trees and stepping over rocks. Rey simply watched his cloaked form grow smaller and more obstructed the farther he grew from her, dumbfounded from what had just transpired.

Even though he had entered the battle as Kylo Ren, something within Rey told her that he left it not quite the same. He wasn't Ben, but he was also no longer Kylo Ren. Rey looked to the sky, watching TIE fighters and X-Wings dance through the clouds.

One day, Rey would pull Ben from the claws of the Dark. She would bring him home. And she was damn sure of it.

A/N: if you enjoyed this story or you feel I need to write another chapter, please let me know with a review! Thank you for reading.


	2. II: Caught Out

**A/N** : The first chapter got a little bit of attention, so here's another.

* * *

Kylo Ren stomped furiously through the verdant scenery around him, paying no mind to the clash in the skies above. Every few moments a beam from a blaster whizzed past him, occasionally nearly scuffing him. He boiled with rage at himself for revealing so much to Rey. For the first time, however, he was not brimming with pure anger. There was a strange tickle at the bottom of his heart that deeply confused him. It was a warm feeling, and it somewhat lifted his spirits; he could only assume it was something along the lines of hope.

He nearly tripped over a tree root when he came upon a wide clearing overrun with Storm Troopers and Resistance fighters. Blasters raged and sent lethal beams back and forth through the air.

 _So this is where they were coming from,_ he noted, unsheathing and readying his saber as he stepped out into the clearing.

The Resistance visibly hesitated at the sight of him but did not completely retract. As the battle went on, he weaved about the warriors around him, deflecting blaster shots and commanding his troops' movements. He managed to get in a good cut or two, but something about it felt… off. That tickling at the bottom of his heart nagged at him each time he went for an attack, and many times caused him to cease his advances before he landed the killing blow. This simply made him more infuriated with himself as the battle dragged on, and he soon realized that he had been holding back against Rey as well.

 _What in the name of the Maker is wrong with me?!_ Screamed through Kylo's head as he continued swinging his blade with staggering force. He increasingly caused more and more injuries but very few fatalities, something uncharacteristic of him entirely. His men began to notice and gave him questioning looks, but their loyalty did not quiver.

Ren saw a glimmer of purple in his peripheral vision and cursed himself. There she is again. Rey. He could tell by the rapid movement of her lightsaber that she was running and deflecting blaster shots at the same time. The Resistance picked back up into the pace it was at when he first arrived. Her presence _alone_ was enough to reinvigorate them; what happened when she began to fight?

He looked away from the Resistance fighter he was toying with to steal a glance at her and found that she had her eyes on him as well. The look in her hazel eyes was certainly not harsh; it was almost amicable, and yet tinged with reluctance. He was grateful that she could not look upon his muddled features as he fought on.

The sound of an ear-shattering explosion above them turned most heads to the sky; a single X-Wing had taken out four TIE Fighters in a fell swoop, sending debris to the battlefield below. The Resistance pulled back into the trees for cover, Rey ushering them out and deflecting whatever shots she could manage to as they retreated. Kylo Ren commanded his men to retreat as well as a Fighter collided with the soil where, just a few moments before, Rey had stood. This sent chills up his spine, but with shards of glass and metal raining from above, he had no time to muse over what may have happened to her.

Again he found himself feeling anything other than pure hatred for her, and chastised himself once more. The Light was tempting him once again. He decided he would have to consult Grandfather soon, as he did whenever he doubted himself. And yet that tickle still chided him for thinking that how he felt was wrong.

He led his men through the endless maze of trees to another clearing by a crystal-clear pool of water. On the banks of the small lake sat their escape; a troop carrier, scuffed and rusted from years of use. He commanded that the highest-ranked Storm Trooper pilot them off of D'Qar. He was willing to admit attacking the rebel base with little more than one or two batallions was brash and he had lost many soldiers to the Alliance. Although remorse was a feeling foreign to him, it brushed the back of his mind for a moment.

"Captain, take these troops out of here. Return to Command, tell them I remained to ensure minimal casualties." He almost immediately felt like remaining on D'Qar would be a terrible idea, but as the Trooper nodded and swiveled on his feet, he decided to stay regardless. He watched as the ship lifted away from the ground, spraying pebbles and dirt around the area. Once the carrier left the atmosphere and the air again hung heavy with silence, he slunk away into the trees once again.

Kylo Ren had no intention of overseeing the remaining Storm Troopers on D'Qar. That much was certain. He knew Phasma was also present somewhere within a few hundred klicks with her own, larger assembly of men, and rationalized they would regroup there. It would be a few days before the battle ended, and he was essentially alone in the wilderness on a planet belonging to the enemy.

He recalled piloting a standard TIE Fighter into D'Qar's airspace, not willing to risk being singled out in his personal ship. He touched down about five klicks to the East, a little farther from the rebel base than he was currently.

He told himself that he would recount the mission as follows: that he stayed to collect any remaining fighters; that he killed dozens of rebels and mowed a path for them to regroup with Phasma; and most importantly, that he did not see any high ranking Alliance personnel. Snoke wanted something with Rey. Unfortunately, so did Kylo Ren, and in this situation he put himself before the Order—quite notably—for the first time.

Ben and Kylo Ren fought for control of his mind as he trudged through thickets and tall tufts of grass. He had two options. Head for the TIE Fighter and return to the First Order in orbit, or head in the direction Rey retreated into. He weighed both options carefully. If he went for his ship he would avoid any repercussions from Snoke for not following orders, but so many questions would be left unanswered. If he traveled to Rey there was a high probability that she or one of her rebels would quickly turn hostile toward him, perhaps attempt to kill him.

However, on the off chance they didn't…

He had subconsciously decided before he even began his trek. He traced the trail his men left behind in the dirt back to the clearing. Smoldering piles of ashen metal and shattered glass was strewn throughout the place, and many patches of grass were on fire. No large fires had started yet. With a small exertion of effort, he used the Force to extinguish the already-dwindling flames, and then headed toward the opening in the trees through which Rey had traveled.

Instead of traveling on the beaten path, he strayed away from it a bit, ducking behind trees and bushes whenever he heard movement. He knew they must have been a ways up the trail by now, but he was still considerably paranoid. Each rustling of leaves or even snapping of branches under his feet caused him to stop completely and prick his ears, listening closely.

After repeating this for quite a while, eventually the snap of a twig was not under his feet, but under the small troop of rebel soldiers ahead. There were perhaps eight or nine of them; and of course, leading them was Rey, her lightsaber now sheathed. She was talking to them as they strode about where the other soldiers had gone. Apparently, she had sent them to join the struggle against Phasma's legion. Ren admired her decision, as Phasma had far more soldiers under her command for this battle than he did; and his were all either dead, back in orbit, or regrouped with the others.

Mulling over this briefly caused him to not notice immediately that Rey had stopped. She silently directed with her hands for her party to continue moving along this path until they reached a fork, and then follow the river from there to join the others. They looked on her with concern but agreed with her command, and began jogging at a brisk pace down the road.

He did not move a muscle in his body. He dared not even breathe. Rey had not moved since she commanded for her men to go on ahead; she simply stood, motionless, stray locks of hair drifting gently in the wind, watching them as they left.

"Ben." Again she was quiet, perhaps even quieter than before. His heart began to thud rapidly against his chest. She was Force sensitive. Of course she could sense his presence.

"Ben. Come out." Now she was a low mumble, shifting on her feet slightly to aim her gaze at the tree he was crouched behind. He remarked to himself that she had not turned hostile immediately, and some form of relief clutched him briefly. Emerging from his somewhat sub-par hiding place, he slid down the cascading rocks that had given him the higher ground. He now stood no more than five feet from her, arguably the closest they had been out of combat since he interrogated her years ago.

Neither of them said anything. His inner conflict would have been perfectly obvious on his face, his brows now knit together in confusion at his feelings. Rey's countenance was painted with a look that didn't even closely resemble the one she wore during their earlier encounter. She looked the same way Leia looked when she sent him to train with Luke, her pain obvious and twisting her features.

Both of them turned when they heard heavy footsteps approaching rapidly from where she sent her men. They decided not to leave her behind after all. He attempted to make an escape, but they had already laid eyes on him, aiming their blasters at his head.

Was coming to Rey truly the right decision?


	3. III: Two Track Mind

"Stop! He's my…my prisoner!" Rey commanded, throwing her arm out in a feeble attempt to protect Kylo Ren. She glanced at him briefly to find he was just as shocked at her outburst as she was. Her eyes traced back to the small group of soldiers. They did not lower their weapons at first, so she had the idea to bind his hands using the Force.

 _Just trust me…_ She thought to herself as she moved his hands closer together. He didn't resist at all, and that surprised her ever so slightly. She recalled he could read minds and nagged herself for not defending against it.

The resistance across the way slowly holstered their guns and circled around Kylo Ren. Half of them praised Rey for capturing such a high value target while the other half prodded at him, jeering and cursing. They snapped handcuffs over his hands and shoved him to his knees, clouds of dust puffing around him. Rey could sense the anger building inside of him.

"Back away from him." She pulled him back to his feet—albeit with a bit of a struggle—and continued. "You all disobeyed a direct order. Why?" She feigned being upset as she looked on each of them, her eyes dancing between theirs. She could feel Kylo's irritated energy begin to simmer down.

"Well, to be honest, Captain, we couldn't find the river you talked about," the shortest soldier piped, brushing his mousy brown hair out of his face. Rey placed her palm on her forehead and sighed.

"The river is twelve klicks north. Perhaps I should have mentioned that before I sent you off. Next time, however, keep moving—don't let your doubt get ahead of you." From the nods she received, it appeared that she had given a satisfactory speech. The troop turned and jogged away once more, leaving the pair of Force-sensitives alone.

"That was convincing. Prisoner?" Kylo Ren inquired, his playful tone almost lost on Rey due to the voice changer. He managed to pry open his cuffs with the Force, but she quickly snapped his hands together as they had been before.

"I can't very well let you go _now,_ can I? By now the entire Resistance knows that I have 'captured' you. What do you suggest?" Rey replied frankly, eying his dark helmet. She was beginning to despise the thing for concealing his feelings. Suddenly, she felt the Force wrapping around his hands begin to billow away as he stepped closer to her. A knot started to form in her throat.

"I suggest you cease underestimating me. To think a simple trick like that would keep me binded." His chuckles sounded inhuman through the voice changer in his mask. "I have a proposition for you."

Rey tilted her head at his sudden change in tone. "And that would be?"

"There are parts of the Force that I wish to understand." He paused, appearing to be recollecting his thoughts. "These parts are… frowned upon by Snoke. By the Order." Rey's face began to glow as she understood what he was asking of her. "However I do not wish to return to my family. Not yet. I want you to—"

He was cut off by another deafening explosion overhead. Shrapnel rained down around them and shards of glass nicked at Rey's exposed arms. The pair dipped underneath a rock overhang about a hundred feet from where they had been before, watching as the remainder of the ship-unfortunately for Rey, an X-Wing—smashed down into the vice grip of the trees above them. The canopy lit on fire as even more debris sprinkled from the cockpit, the pilot dangling by his shirt. Rey felt no sign of life, and a terrible aching got stuck in her chest. She had seen many casualties over the years, but they always got to her.

She knew she was very vulnerable, albeit briefly, as she looked upon the scene above her. She could feel Kylo Ren enter her mind, but he was much less invasive than before. It felt as though he was attempting to console her. She still pushed back, yet found he wasn't leaving. Rey turned to look at him to find that he had removed his mask again and was simply staring at her.

"I didn't want you to find out like this," he started, moving his gaze to the carnage in the trees. "I didn't want it to happen."

"What are you _talking about?_ " Rey griped. Her hands were balled into fists and tightly pressed into her lap.

"Force-sensitives… We can sometimes form links. It is a very rare occurrence, so I can see why Skywalker did not instruct you of their existence. However, on the off chance that it does happen…" He trailed away, idly twiddling his gloved thumbs. She could _feel_ how nervous he was. Not by his facial expression, not by his actions—she actually felt nervous too.

"Are you telling me we've—that we've bonded?!" Rey demanded curtly. She crawled from under the overhang and stood with her arms folded over her chest. "What exactly does that even entail?" She tried her best to keep her agitation on a low boil. After all, this couldn't be _all_ bad.

 _You're right, it couldn't be._ She was visibly struck by his thoughts playing in her head and she recoiled, stepping back and crunching into a chunk of the ship above.

"All of my thoughts, feelings, my pain and pleasure…It is yours now," He spoke slowly, seeming to savor every word as he spoke, rolling them around on his tongue.

 _And vice versa,_ she pondered, receiving a single nod from the adjacent Sith. "What caused the bond?"

"We have had previous exposure to each other's raw emotions. Our saber fight that gave me this scar, for example." He ran his finger quickly down the swipe over his eye.

"Or your interrogation, perhaps?" She deadpanned. "You know. The one where you so graciously invaded my mind." She could feel through their newborn bond that he was discomforted by her response, but she did not see such emotion on his face. After a brief moment, he spoke again.

"I suppose this display here,"—he pointed to the X-Wing in the trees hanging precariously above them—"was the final nail in the coffin, so to speak. The brief moment of vulnerability opened the floodgates." He was sitting back now, leaning against the rocks behind him, his helmet in the gravel a little out of arm's reach from him.

"So you have full access to my head, then. Just like the interrogation." She intentionally funneled her mixed emotions through to him, and this twisted his face from its stoic façade.

"Not exactly," he mumbled, pressing her discomfort away from him. "I can only see what you choose to share with me now."

 _So no more mind invasions._ Relief mixed with some strange sense of gratitude trickled through the bond along with that message.

 _Correct._ Kylo Ren accepted her mixed feelings this time, but did not comment on them. _I don't have that ability any longer._

He stood quickly, collecting his helmet and pulling it back over his head. With swift movements he dusted the dirt away from his tunic.

"Where are you going?" she bounced after him, looking at him expectantly.

"I cannot stay here any longer. If Snoke finds that I am…fraternizing with the enemy, he'll have my head." He turned and began to walk back towards the direction he came from. Rey again did not follow him. Kylo could feel her longing to follow him, to stop him from leaving D'Qar. She felt the bond was beginning to be problematic. _Until we meet again, this will have to do._ He sounded almost disappointed as he flitted through her mind.

 _Until we meet again_.

* * *

A/N: Please do me a favor and leave a review/follow/favorite! It inspires me to write new chapters quicker.


	4. IV: Unexpected Changes

For the third time today, Kylo Ren found himself walking away from his sworn enemy, leaving her without a scratch. What had come over him? He arrived on D'Qar yesterday with the intent of killing her. Turning her to the Dark side proved to be too great a challenge for the Order. She was too deeply set in the light.

He walked briskly through the familiar open field, the wreckage now dormant and faintly pungent with the scent of death. As he looked upon the scene, he reflected on the odds of the wreckages—the TIE fighter in front of him, as well as the X-Wing in the treetops—occurring in such close proximity to each other.

 _The Force works in mysterious ways,_ Rey encroached. Kylo did not respond to her, but instead continued making his way toward his vessel.

* * *

Twilight slowly blanketed his surroundings, gradually lowering his line of sight. Frustratedly he slumped against a fell tree, the moss draping over it working as an efficient back rest. Recalling his ownership of a holoprojector, Kylo Ren slipped it from his pocket, quickly displaying a map of the D'Qarian wilderness. He was not far from his ship now; a six-hour trek would land him at his destination.

He reached up and popped off his helm after listening meticulously for movement. His tufts of black hair fluttered to frame his jaw after being confined for a few hours; he let out a heavy sigh. Beads of sweat had begun to accumulate on his forehead which he quickly swiped away upon removal of his helmet. Taking a rest wouldn't be _so_ bad, would it? He removed his gloves as well, absentmindedly cracking his knuckles.

 _At least_ you _get to catch a break._ He jumped at her intrusion, still not entirely accustomed to having a second conscience.

 _Well deserved,_ Kylo curtly replied, slipping his gloves back over his hands. _This is one of the few instances in which I am not being carefully observed._

 _I see._ There was a less-than-vague disinterest lacing Rey's response.

She briefly projected the battle she was currently overseeing through the bond. Bright streaks of red and blue sped through the air, occasionally meeting their targets with a sickening hiss. He could see Rey's own purple saber dancing through, deflecting and sometimes returning shots. As quickly as the vision appeared to him it vanished. He drank it all up, invigorated by her determination, her clear mind.

Well. Somewhat clear. There was a certain Sith lord intertwining himself within her subconscious.

 _Perhaps you could use a break as well,_ he responded after a few minutes. He was beginning to doze off despite himself, but he stopped his drowsiness from spilling through the bond. Suddenly he felt their connection grow cold, feeling as if she was now totally shutting him out. Maybe she could sense he was close to falling asleep after all.

After checking his surroundings once more, he allowed himself to drift into sleep.

* * *

As he expected, he was roped into another nightmare. It was the same one he had every night for the past month. He started awake in an impossibly dark room, pulling himself from the floor. It was freezing cold, his breath puffing into the air.

Whispers floated into his ears, telling him _there's no way out, you can't save yourself,_ _there is no hope_. They were standard. Despite that, they still chilled him more than the frigid atmosphere.

A bright red light ignited several feet away, followed by familiar cross-guards. He recognized it to be his lightsaber. He began to sprint towards it, feeling as though it was his only salvation from himself. He felt like he was running through water at first, but as he got closer it became more like quicksand.

The sparks from his saber now trickled around him, closer than ever before. This part of the nightmare was the part he dreaded the most. He would reach to grab the lightsaber. His vision would fade in from the darkness to see his father speared on the other end. It happened every night, and every night he would have to endure murdering Han Solo in order to awaken.

He mentally braced himself. After a moment's hesitation, he extended a gloved hand to wrap around the hilt. The whispers grew louder and louder, this time speaking in an unknown foreign tongue.

As the darkness whisked away, his heart ached more and more. After a moment he noticed that the scene playing out before him was not his father's murder. His eyes grew wide and immediately began to sting as he found someone else grasping his hand, tears spilling over their cheeks as they screamed his old name.

Rey.

He immediately snapped out of his dream, now drenched in sweat. It was now the middle of the night, and there was not a cloud in the sky. His chest was heaving as he pulled himself up against the tree as he had earlier that night.

The bond was no longer cold. He could feel her presence there, looking upon the dream he just had with some odd form of consolation and confusion. Ashamed he pressed the connection shut as best he could, but she still seeped in through the fringes.

 _Why does that worry you?_ Her incriminating tone lashed at him. He filled in the fringes and completely shut her out as he began to calm down, rapidly recollecting himself. Why _did_ that worry him? Wasn't killing her his ultimate goal?

He jumped up rapidly, snatching his helmet and pulling it on. The Light was tantalizing him once again. He gripped his lightsaber tightly as he chopped through the trees around him, letting his anger out through the beam of his blade. They fell slowly on top of each other, and soon he was standing in a ring of fallen trees, breathing heavily, the hum of his blade and ringing in his ears drowning out all other sound. He quickly retracted his blade and started off toward his ship.

Kylo Ren could not afford to be weak. Ben Solo was dead, but it appeared having Rey in his mind at all times was going to revive him. This was unacceptable.

 _It's plenty acceptable._ Rey broke through the block in the bond, filling his cold thoughts with her naturally warm, light presence. _Ben might end up killing Kylo if you aren't careful._ She was joking, but he took that statement to heart. She wasn't wrong.

 _I can't let that happen._ He was so adamant he nearly said it aloud. _I must remain loyal to the Dark side of the Force._

 _Must you truly? What of your desire to learn the Light again?_ Rey pulled no punches.

 _It is despicable and I hate myself for showing such weakness._ His matter-of-fact tone struck her slightly.

 _The Dark side is weak._ She paused. _The Light will always blot out the Dark. It is blotting out the Dark in you as we speak._

 _Is that so?_ He mewled, pretending to counter her statement. Unfortunately she was correct. There was a pit in his stomach as he imagined ascending from the Dark. What kind of severe torture he would endure from Snoke. How he would be hunted by the Resistance and the First Order alike. It sent shivers up and down his spine. He could not afford to be in such danger.

His fear made its way to Rey and he could feel her disappointment. _Really? You're scared of change. That is laughable._ He pushed a pinch of resentment through to her, which shut her up.

 _I am not afraid of anything,_ Kylo Ren hissed. He knew he was lying to himself, but he did not let her know that.

 _Everyone is afraid of something. For example, you seem to be afraid of your own capability. Of being freed from the Dark side. Of Snoke. Of killing me._ As she listed these off he grew more and more agitated. _Fine, fine._ She felt his agitation burn through. _I'll leave you be._ The bond fell silent and he found himself alone in the woods again.

* * *

The sun peeked over the horizon as Kylo arrived at his vessel, the ramp descending and touching the ground as he approached. Gratefully the fighting had not come near his secret landing place; the scenery was just as untouched as he had left it. He stepped up onto the platform and closed it as he arrived at his seat. Hux hissed into view on the comm link, saluting as he began to speak.

"Commander Kylo Ren. I have a status report." Kylo nodded, allowing him to continue. "We have suffered many casualties and lost most of the TIE fighters we sent on this expedition, sir."

"What of the ground troops?"

"It appears we had similar tolls on the ground. Your little Jedi saw to that," Hux responded snarkily, much to the disdain of Kylo Ren.

"Any notable prisoners?" He chose to ignore his statement about Rey.

"Just one. Sending profile in now." General Hux tapped at a console offscreen and Kylo's holoprojector buzzed in his pocket. "Hux out."

Kylo reached for his holoprojector, opening Hux's message. An unfamiliar face flitted out in front of him.

The nameplate that buzzed underneath the projection of his face read "Poe Dameron."

* * *

 **A/N:** I tried to include more dialogue and stronger plot development in this chapter. Leave a review!


	5. V: Stronger

News of Poe Dameron's capture spread rapidly through the Resistance. With him gone, morale was considerably low; Rey decided the best course of action would be to regroup and fall back while she pondered the next move. She did her best to seal the bond between her newfound Sith counterpart and herself, in order to deter any eavesdropping of her plans. She was sure bits and pieces would trickle through, but nothing of consequence. She sent a message to her squadron through her comm link, demanding a full retreat.

 _Giving up now, are we?_ Kylo taunted. She knew that he was fully aware of Dameron's capture. She simply ignored him, attempting to push as much coldness through the bond as she could muster. He appeared to give up on antagonizing her shortly afterward, leaving her sharp presence alone for the time being.

Rey rushed through the trees, fumbling with her comm link as she walked. She paged Leia and waited patiently for a response, watching her movements carefully as she trudged through the underbrush. After a few moments, Leia's voice patched through.

"Rey? Rey, are you there?" The princess inquired worriedly.

"Yes, General Organa. It's Poe. Poe's been—"

"Captured. Yes, I know." Leia paused, contemplating what could possibly be done about the situation. "Return to base with your men. The battle at large must continue, but we can't fight without Dameron."

"Understood. Rey out." Rey shoved her comm link into her satchel and gestured for her men to pursue her as she sprinted into the woods, headed straight for base.

* * *

As she arrived, she was met with tired gazes and half-hearted smiles. The battle was taking a toll even on the technicians and auxiliary fighters. She offered as much positivity as she could, but it was clear that they were being worked too hard for it to have much effect. She continued into the main control area, where Leia was bent over a map of the battlefield.

"General," Rey addressed, approaching the map to assess the situation. Rebel forces were being pushed back in droves partly due to Rey's withdrawal. Leia looked down at the map with disdain, and shortly after turned to address Rey.

"We're losing footing out there. Having Poe gone is putting a massive burden on our air fighters' morale, to boot." She paused for a long time, pondering something as she chewed her thumb nail subconsciously. After a long silence, Rey spoke.

"What about a rescue?" She offered with confidence.

"Are you insane? How would we even manage something so brash?" The General quipped, glancing around the room at the serviceable troupe of men Rey brought along with her.

"There are enemy reinforcement ships present and unattended on D'Qar, correct? Could we not simply board one and wait in the cargo bay? I'm sure there would be extra uniforms lying around as well…" her tone became increasingly hopeful as she worked through the plan aloud. "This could work, General."

General Organa sighed deeply, looking at Rey and noticing that same gleam of bravery in her eyes that was present in her son long ago. "Take someone with you. Leave quickly and quietly." She paused and looked up and down at her, as though she were trying to absorb as much of her appearance into her memory as she could. "May the Force be with you."

"Yes, General." Rey ran off and out into the same area where she was before, glancing over the tired rebels. Many were struggling to stay awake, let alone perform their duties. A pang of guilt tugged at her heart, and she realized she couldn't ask any of them to risk their lives any more than they already are. She simply continued to jog past them and into the general direction of the battle; she was aware she would face repercussions for disobeying orders, but she was willing to deal with that consequence.

* * *

As Rey drew closer to the battlefield, she could hear the familiar whiz of gunfire echoing off the trees. She instinctively lowered closer to the ground as she walked, attempting to avoid any stray blaster fire. She could feel the heat of Kylo Ren's presence somewhere on the battlefield, though it was far from her. She was sure he could feel her as well.

 _You're back, I see._ A very slight air of concern laced through the message sent through the bond. Rey continued to trek over some loose rocks, paying little attention to what he had to say. She projected a vision of what she was doing to him for just a few seconds. She would need practice controlling what he can and cannot see for this particular venture, so she took this opportunity to do so. The sight of Rey's feet feeling for secure stones with a deep ravine off to her side was transported to Kylo Ren; in return, she received a small sense of dread, as though he was anxious about her losing her footing. Other than that, there was total silence over the Force bridge. She pressed him out of her mind shortly afterward and continued on, expertly minding her footfalls as she went.

She came upon a ridge above a clearing where a group of rebels collided with the First Order; she noticed the rebels were pushing them back considerably here due to their understanding of the terrain. Rey looked closely at the section of woods that the First Order was funneling out of. She quickly deduced that a carrier vessel must be concealed somewhere in those trees. She moved faster now, speedily dancing through the brush as she ran the length of the ridge.

Once on the same level as the battle, she paid even closer attention to her noise level. The last thing she needed was for a stray Stormtrooper to alert the squadron of her presence. She stayed very low and reduced her pace to almost a creep, watching movement through the trees very closely. After a few moments, she noticed the glint of sunshine off the body of a vessel. She subconsciously quickened her pace as she came to the edge of the smaller, detached clearing where the carrier vessel had strategically landed. The sun was lowering at an agonizingly slow rate, and she realized it would be suicide to attempt to board with sunlight revealing her. She sat and crossed her legs, concealed by the tall grass around her, and carefully observed the movement of the First Order about the vessel.

She closed her eyes after a moment and sighed. It would be another few hours before she felt safe attempting to board. Distant blaster fire kept her alert, but she still longed to simply rest for the time being. After a few moments, she felt the presence of Kylo Ren enter her mind. She did not have the energy to push him away, although she refused to open her eyes to prevent him becoming aware of her plan.

 _You seem tired._ He said to her after a long pause.

 _I want nothing more than to sleep right now, to be quite honest,_ Rey responded, almost immediately cursing herself for revealing a weakness. After a few moments, her vision was no longer dark; she was startled to see Kylo Ren's figure slowly fading into her vision, seated across from her inside of an unfamiliar cruiser. She nearly jerked her eyes open in surprise but suppressed it, realizing she could still feel the overgrown grass brushing around her corporeal body. The bond had strengthened. They could now physically see each other.

He had removed a considerable amount of his armor and was seated in a cowl, his helmet a few feet away from him on his bench. His scar from their battle on Starkiller base, all too familiar, was there in full view, and it caused her to wince slightly. He noticed, but did not say anything. He was equally as stunned to see her there, cross-legged on the deck, looking up at him.

"Can you see me right now?" Rey asked after a moment, her fingers curling over her kneecaps. He nodded slowly, his own tension becoming visible on his face.

"I didn't know this was even possible," he muttered quietly, unable to contain his surprise for a moment. He quickly regained his composure, however.

"Maybe this will make it easier for me to help you understand the Light," Rey stated after a few moments, resolve solidifying in her countenance.

"Maybe…" he trailed off, still in disbelief over her presence. He was staring at her absentmindedly for quite a while, and he realized Rey was staring right back at him. Their eyes locked for what felt like an eternity. So much emotion was twisting around behind her eyes that he was forced to look away. He could feel her eyes on him still, and he felt his face warm slightly. "I have to go. I have to deal with that Dameron."

Rey clenched her fists, anger building in her stomach. Every time she felt she could trust him, it was dashed away. Rather than giving away her plan, she simply stated "very well." As they both pressed the bond shut, their vision of each other faded, and soon she was staring at the carrier vessel once again. It was night time, and she realized that she must have been sleeping while communicating with Kylo Ren, as she felt far more rested. Noticing that the clearing was empty of Stormtroopers, she quickly rose and ran to the open carrier, her desire to save Poe Dameron now stronger than ever.

Her boots fell as silently as possible as she ran up the ramp into the vessel. She paused at the top of the ramp and glanced toward the pilot seat, only to see a sleeping Stormtrooper with his feet propped precariously on the controls. Rolling her eyes as she moved into the ship, she noticed that the pilot was the only person onboard apart from herself. Taking note of how fortunate this was, she slipped into the cargo bay below deck.

There were countless barrels and crates strewn about, and quite a few lockers lining the walls. She began to test each one to see if any were unlocked, cautiously muffling her sound; after testing four of them, she finally found one that opened to reveal a cadet uniform. It would fit a little large on her, but it would work. She changed clothes as quickly as possible, gently placing her saber and satchel off to the side while she worked. When she was fully changed, she stuffed her robes into her satchel and attached it to herself in such a manner that it wouldn't be noticeable; she similarly attached her saber horizontally to her belt, to avoid detection. The larger size of the uniform made it notably easier to conceal her equipment.

She glanced around the room, looking for the best place to hide for the flight up to the Star Destroyer overseeing the conflict on D'Qar. After a few moments, she noticed a tarp over some crates in the corner of the room. She moved as silently as her rubber boots would allow her to and slipped up underneath the tarp, pushing some crates out of the way to accommodate for her size. Once she was as comfortable as one could be in her situation, she closed her eyes once more, allowing herself to drift off once again.

* * *

A/N: I'd like to apologize for the near 2 years between uploads. I noticed a major plot point in this work was touched on in The Last Jedi - I won't mention what it was for those of you that haven't seen it, but it inspired me to come back to it. Please let me know what you think. I will keep working on this as long as I feel inspired to. Thank you for reading.


	6. VI: Rescue

Rey jolted up as she realized something was amiss about her surroundings; she was inside of a cramped room, stacked high with various old crates and sacks. There were no windows, and only one rotting wooden door that was adjacent to her. One overturned crate next to her had a small dish with a candle burning itself out upon it. The candle was weighing down a ragged piece of paper with a hurried handwritten message; she slowly slid the candle off of the paper and read the note. 'WE ARE NEVER COMING BACK.' She read it again and again and again, with each reading pushing her further down into agony.

'WE ARE NEVER COMING BACK.'

Her eyes immediately stung with tears. She tried to get up, but her body was too heavy for her to move. She struggled more and more, but to no avail; she looked to the small door, the only exit from the room, to see her master pressing down on her with all of his might. The Force wrapped its tendrils around her and fastened her to the bedroll, her hand trapped on the horrid note. Her tears fell and smudged the charcoal with which it was written.

"Luke, why?!" She managed to choke, her fingers curling to crush the paper beneath her hand. Skywalker opened his mouth to speak, but large billows of black smoke poured out in place of words. She squeezed her eyes shut, paralyzed with fear; when she opened them, she was curled up behind the crates in the cargo bay where she had fallen asleep. She was sweating in her oversized uniform, and tears had dried on her cheeks. She could feel Kylo Ren as though he were gazing over her shoulder, and she instinctively turned her back only to realize he wasn't genuinely there.

 _Why were you sleeping there, of all places?_ He questioned. She cursed herself. She had shown him the crates crowding her when she first woke up. Her mind raced to come up with some sort of excuse, but she was too fried from that horrible nightmare to think of anything. She knew he watched it. Did he revel in it? Was he sympathetic?

The bond was silent for a long time. He was intentionally sealing his emotions away from her, she knew it. She was too afraid to move, to accidently show him her clothes or the rest of the cargo bay she had stowed away in; she simply closed her eyes. After what felt like an eternity, he began to project what he was seeing to her. Her stomach turned and tied into a knot.

Poe Dameron stared deep into her eyes—Or Kylo's eyes, from his perspective—blood pouring from his lip and nose, eyes swelling shut and turning deep purple. She saw behind him a table with various unidentifiable instruments, some of them tainted with what she could only assume to be his blood. It seemed, however, that he had not been too seriously hurt; a mixture of relief and disgust flooded into Kylo Ren's mind as he ripped his vision away from Rey.

 _How could you?!_ She screamed through the bond as loud as the Force would allow her to. She could sense some sort of remorse coming from his side, but she was too infuriated to care. _Just when I thought there was some sort of—_

She was cut short by a sudden absence of Kylo Ren's presence. He had forced her out once again. She sat and fumed for a moment, gazing down at her boots as she thought of her next action. Rey went over her certainties in her mind. Of three things, she was certain; one, that she needed to find Poe at all costs. Two, that she needed to remain as calm and collected as possible. And three, she could not afford to show Kylo Ren any more than she already had.

She reasoned that Poe would not simply reveal all the Rebellion's secrets over a broken nose and bloodied lip. No, it would take much more to comb that sort of information out of him; therefore, Ren must send him back to his holding cell at some point. Her safest plan would be to discover where he was being held. Without another moment of hesitation, Rey rose from her cramped hiding place. She weaved her way back out of the crates and smoothed out her uniform as best as she could. Realizing it would look bad for her to be alone in the cargo bay of a random carrier vessel, she quickly darted up onto the deck and off the ramp.

She came out into the massive docking area of the Star Destroyer, and her heart clenched tight with fear. What appeared to be thousands of Stormtroopers stood in clean, orderly formation, waiting to board hundreds of carriers like the empty one she just dispatched from. She desperately looked for someone in the same black uniform she was cloaked in. A few walked down a pathway about a hundred feet from her, but were quickly obstructed from view by the carriers surrounding her. She sprinted out in that general direction and fell into the flow of the pathway, going unnoticed.

Rey imagined the next step would be to find some sort of terminal where she could look up Dameron's location. For right now, she longed to be anywhere where she could not see the sheer number of people under Snoke's control. She noticed the pathway leading into a much narrower hallway about four hundred feet ahead, and subconsciously locked her eyes on that destination.

As she crossed the threshold into the hallway, she noticed a technician enter a room branching off not too far ahead. She prayed one of the gray uniforms ahead of her would also turn into the room, and her prayers were answered; she followed fairly close behind, and entered a massive room full of uniformed officers overseeing hundreds of flashing monitors and holoprojectors.

Rey patrolled the room slowly, observing each monitor closely enough to see what was being displayed while also meticulously avoiding suspicion. After inspecting a few, she noticed a holoprojection of Poe Dameron's bust; to the right of his figure was a large number that she could only assume was his cell number. Two one nine three. Two one nine three. She attempted to burn it into her mind, never stopping her pace as she looped around and back out of the room.

The next stop would have to be an elevator. As she passed room after room, she noticed each room number began with one; Dameron, therefore, must have been imprisoned on the second floor. She came across an elevator after a while, and hurriedly followed the handful of officers boarding it.

"Floor number?" asked a gruff man. Rey was confused for a moment, causing him to repeat his question with a considerably larger amount of agitation.

"Two—Two, please." She stated, attempting to sound bigger than she was. He rolled his eyes and punched the corresponding button. Rey allowed herself to exhale slowly through her nose. The elevator came to her stop and she was the only 'officer' to disembark. She did not look back as she heard the door close behind her.

The room number closest to the elevator read two one one two. She assumed that the numbers would go up as she proceeded, meaning Dameron was fairly far in the other direction. She continued walking, her thick boots creating a muted echo as she walked. The hallway curved off to the left and she followed, minding her distance from other pedestrians.

As the curve evened out, she allowed herself to glance up ahead. Her throat nearly sealed off as she noticed a dark black cloak at the far end of the hallway. With whatever strength she could muster, she pressed the bond as tightly shut as she could. If she was discovered now, she would certainly die. Her eyes locked on the figure, monitoring his movements.

Kylo Ren spoke with a high-ranking officer for a few moments, long enough for her to draw close enough to hear the sound of his dark voice crackling through his helmet. He turned and began to walk in her direction, and her vision began to tunnel. She looked down at her boots as she walked, willing that if she didn't look at him, he wouldn't see her. As the sound of his footsteps drew ever closer, she couldn't help but to look up for just a moment.

He was looking at her. She couldn't see his eyes, or the look on his face, but she knew he was staring directly at her. She tore her gaze immediately back down to her feet and kept moving, her footsteps never slowing but her heart beating faster and faster.

 _Rey._ His voice tore through her block in the bond. She didn't stop moving, but her eyes widened at the amount of strength he must have had to break the barrier. She could hear that he hadn't stopped walking, either. _Don't get yourself killed._

She was dumbfounded. _What?_ _Shouldn't you be the one killing me right now?_ She inquired.

 _You're right. I should be._ The bond fell cold. She could hear the elevator door slide open at the far end of the hallway right as she reached the cell where Dameron was being held. What exactly was going through his head?

She dug into the pockets of the uniform to find an identification placard she could use to scan the door open. With one swipe of the stranger's ID, the door slid open and she ran inside to find a disheveled Poe Dameron slumped over on a metal slab she was certain the Order would identify as a 'bed.' He spat blood at her feet before he looked up to realize he was being rescued.

"Rey," he exclaimed, sitting upright. "What are you doing here?"

"Rescuing you, as always," she quipped as she gave him a tight hug. "Come on, we don't have much time. I'll say we're heading for special interrogation if anyone asks." She gestured for him to follow her.

* * *

The pair faced little trouble with any of the First Order on their trek to the ship's hangar. However, there was now the concern of how exactly they would return to D'Qar's surface. Rey could not exactly consult Poe for advice given their situation, but she decided to hazard a glance at him. He nodded toward an unattended TIE fighter. It appeared as though it had been cleared for takeoff, but by some divine miracle, the pilot left it alone. Rey nodded once and led him off toward it.

Upon reaching the TIE fighter, Rey took one last glance around the hangar for any prying eyes. She slowly removed her saber from its hilt and, as quickly and quietly as possible, sliced through Dameron's cuffs. The complete lack of interference left a pit in Rey's stomach, as though something was about to go horribly wrong. She pushed the feeling down as she clambered into the cockpit of the vessel. She gestured for Poe to take the gunner seat.

Shouting began to permeate through the glass of the TIE fighter's windows. They had been spotted. Rey quickly engaged the vessel and lifted off; blaster fire began to pelt the ship's body.

"Poe, fire when ready!" she shouted through the fighter's comm system, gunning the engines to full speed as she blasted out into space. Out in the open, fire was still whizzing into their general direction, but she could quickly blend with other enemy forces. She pursued closely behind a carrier vessel along with three other TIE fighters in an attempt to blend in. Suddenly, the ship's radio blared overhead.

"Fighters, be on the lookout for a rebel commanding a TIE fighter unit. She is carrying the prisoner Poe Dameron, and is extremely dangerous. I repea—" Rey reached up and flicked off the radio power. She dipped out from the forces following the carrier vessel and aimed her pursuit for D'Qar, dodging fire from the TIEs she was recently flying with.

"Rey, this doesn't look good!" Dameron shouted as he gunned down one of the fighters. "We need to land, and we need to land now!"

"I've got it!" She spiraled between two fighters and pressed forward, the airspace between the planet and the vessel now free of obstruction. Rey put more pressure on the fighter than she had before, determined to breach the planet's atmosphere.

The entire vehicle jolted to the left as enemy fire finally connected with the right wing of the fighter. Alarms began to blast overhead as they entered the atmosphere, and Rey furiously pressed buttons and switches overhead in order to smooth out their crash landing as much as possible. The rebel base was visible from this height, and Rey in her frantic action calculated they would land within two klicks. Smoke began to obstruct her vision as the engine totally gave out. She squeezed her eyes shut and waited.

 _Rey, no!_ was all that she could hear as the ship impacted the tree level below. She was ejected from the pilot seat, shrapnel cutting up her arms as she blasted up and out into the branches above. Her parachute tangled her into the leaves. Before she could attempt to wriggle herself out of her parachute, the TIE fighter blasted off another large piece of metal that hit her directly on the head, and everything went dark.

* * *

A/N: I promise the next chapter will be a little less wordy. Thank you for reading, and thank you to those who have left a review.


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